Girl Time!

It might be very safe to say that I will never have as many friends as I did in Philly.  I think all the people that we met were easily one of the best parts of living there.  Every year we'd lose a beloved class, only to gain a new one that we could grow to love.  Consequently there was always a baby shower, girl's night, Cheesecake Factory run, movie, or barbeque to go to.  They will forever be fond memories for me.

Below are all out of order pics of said gatherings.  A night out at CF, a going away party before I moved (thanks Megan!), a baby shower, a picnic and a pool party.  Oh how I'll miss all the partying!

Kelley came through town AFTER we had moved, so we had to take the trip down to see her.  It was a blast!

Spring Fair

Jayda wasn't able to finish our her first grade year since we had decided to move in June (school in Philly starts and ends a lot later than in the west). Fortunately, she was still able to go to her spring fair and say a proper goodbye to her class and teacher. As much as I'm not a fan of big sweaty crowds like this, it's still a lot of fun to see Jayda in her element and get to know her friends and teachers that she is always talking about. I absolutely LOVED her teacher Ms. Cmiel, I felt like she really advocated for Jayda and made sure that she was working to meet her potential. We'll really miss her.

Graduation Week

These pictures are not in any sort of order, but I'm fully confident that you'll be able to put the pieces together.

The week of graduation was a very fun and busy one.  Glenn's family slowly trickled in a week before the actual day of graduation.  Shad came first, then Rachel and her parents, and the day before Keisha was able to make it.  My parent's came a few days before graduation too.  AND, amongst all of that, I got a fun visit from my friend Karey, who I got to spend a very fun day with.  Unfortunately, I only took pictures of her with my phone, and I can't figure out how to get them on here.

I didn't take many pictures of the week, but we had a lot of fun.  We took Glenn's parents to The Pop Shop for our favorite grilled cheese sandwiches, Glenn's mom and sister got to check out a family gravestone, and my parents got to see Longwood Gardens.

The day of graduation I was so concerned with everything going smoothly that I pulled out my Type A personality (something that makes a rare appearance), and typed out an actual itinerary of where we were going to be and at what time.  Yeah, I became that person.

We started out the morning at the Smorgasbord in Lancaster.  I have to be honest, I know it's become a Pennsylvania treasure, but I was relieved that it was our last visit.  My stomach was not happy with me.  Afterward we all cruised Kitchen Kettle and the surrounding gift shops.  Then we all ran home to change and drove to graduation. 

Like most people, I don't get terribly excited to sit through a graduation, but considering what this one meant, it was pretty awesome.  I think I was smiling through the entire thing.  I can't even tell you how proud I was of Glenn to accomplish something as difficult as it was without hardly ever complaining.  It also meant so much to me to be surrounded by family who had flown all that way to support us. 

After the ceremony, we all drove back to our place for subs and dessert.  I was literally flying high after such a successful day and so grateful at what good sports everyone was for going along with such a packed day.

End of the Year Picnic

At the end of every school year, we've gone to a going away picnic for all the families who were getting ready to move away. It was always a bitter sweet time, so sad to say goodbye to those leaving, but also a realization that you are that much closer to being next.

At the same time, I honestly thought our time would never come, so it was a shock to finally go to OUR end of the year picnic.  It was a great evening, even if I was in total denial that we were actually leaving.  I'm sure going to miss these girls.  Philly would have been an exponentially harder experience had we not been literally enveloped in such a supportive and fun group of girls.  Playdates and girl's nights were often big lifesavers.  

Our last weekend in Catawissa

We had so much fun spending our time in PA with the Simonsons, we had to fit one more visit in before we all moved away.  It was so nice showing up at her house, basically whenever we wanted, to feel as much at home as I would if I were visiting my family.  We're going to miss them dearly.

Our last visit we pulled out the stops and went to Knoebels, a big amusement park close to their house.  I'm not big on riding rides since I get so motion sick, but the kids had a great time.  It was a great chance to soak up our last bit of time with such good friends.